Patients with advanced prostate cancer being treated at hospitals participating in a special drug pricing program are more likely to keep up with their medication compared to those at other hospitals.
This finding comes from a study by the University of Michigan’s Rogel Cancer Center and Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation.
The program in question, known as the 340B Drug Pricing Program, requires drug companies to sell their products at discounted rates to hospitals that serve a large number of patients using Medicare and Medicaid.
The idea behind the program is to help these hospitals use their limited resources more effectively, allowing them to assist more patients and provide a wider range of services.
The savings on medications are meant to be reinvested into the community to support those who are less fortunate.
In recent years, the treatment of advanced prostate cancer has shifted towards using new, targeted oral medications.
However, these medications are costly, which can make them hard to access for people who are struggling financially. The researchers wanted to see if the 340B program could help bridge this gap.
The study looked at Medicare data for men diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer who received treatment with these newer drugs.
They compared patients treated at hospitals participating in the 340B program with those at non-participating hospitals, totaling 2,237 men at 340B hospitals and 1,100 at others.
They also considered the patients’ social vulnerability using a measure that takes into account economic, racial, and household factors based on zip codes.
It was found that people from areas with higher social vulnerability were less likely to start treatment with the oral cancer drugs, and this was true for both 340B and non-340B hospitals.
However, the study found a significant difference in how likely patients were to continue their treatment. At non-340B hospitals, fewer patients stuck with their treatment as social vulnerability increased.
But at 340B hospitals, the likelihood of continuing treatment did not decrease with greater social vulnerability.
This suggests that 340B hospitals might have resources or programs in place to help vulnerable patients keep up with their treatment, such as medication management services or financial support for drug costs.
Although being part of the 340B program didn’t lead to more patients starting these treatments, it was linked to better adherence to treatment among those facing social and economic challenges.
This research highlights the potential benefits of the 340B Drug Pricing Program in supporting patients with advanced prostate cancer, especially those from more vulnerable backgrounds.
It suggests that the program may offer a way to help patients maintain consistent treatment, which is crucial for the effectiveness of these new therapies.
If you care about prostate cancer, please read studies about 5 types of bacteria linked to aggressive prostate cancer, and new strategy to treat advanced prostate cancer.
For more information about prostate cancer, please see recent studies about new way to lower risk of prostate cancer spread, and results showing three-drug combo boosts survival in metastatic prostate cancer.
The research findings can be found in Cancer.
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